The Beijing Paralympic Games closing ceremony was held at the Bird's Nest stadium on Wednesday night. The following are some facts and figures about the ceremony.
THE VENUE
The closing ceremony was held in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in the Olympic Green in northern Beijing.
The stadium was jointly designed by Herzog & de Meuron Design Office, and China Architecture Design & Research Group and ARUP. Its construction began on Dec. 24, 2003, and completed on June 30, 2008. Altogether 45,000 tonnes of steel was used to build its framework.
The stadium's seating capacity is 91,000, including 11,000 temporary seats. The floor space is 258,000 square meters.
THE SETTINGS
The main performance area is a foldable green lawn with an area of 7,560 square meters. A podium is set up in the middle area of the west track of the stadium as an award stand.
MUSIC
A total of 600 hours of music was created for the ceremony by 16 composers.
LIGHTING
Altogether 2,503 special lights are used and lighting equipment weighing more than 300 tonnes has been installed. Electricity load for lighting totals 6,440 kilowatt.
COSTUME
A total of 2,320 sets of costumes in 16 styles.
REHEARSAL
A total of 819 Chinese volunteers participated in the ceremony. The first group rehearsal began in December 2007.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2008)